Okey Ndibe, who participated in Clark
University's Book and Author Dinner in April 2014, has released a memoir, "Never
Look an American in the Eye: Flying Turtles, Colonial Ghosts and the Making of
a Nigerian American." The title may give you an indication of Dr. Ndibe's
wit—one of the traits that helps immigrants adjust to this country
successfully.
Author of the novels "Foreign
Gods, Inc." and "Arrows of Rain," he is co-editor of
"Writers Writing on Conflicts, and Wars in Africa."
His latest work joins previous publications
in receiving critical praise.
"Okey Ndibe brings a keen eye
to his delightful and insightful new memoir. His vision is clearer than 20-20.
A writer who can arrive in America, be falsely accused of bank robbery in just
10 days, and still manage to keep his sense of humor, is a man with a story to
tell. He writes it beautifully," said Sally Denton, author of "The
Profiteers: Bechtel and the Men Who Built the World."
"Powerful insights into the
trials, prospects, and triumphs of being an immigrant in America. In a style
that is impressively skillful, Ndibe masterfully conveys the odysseys of his
early life in Nigeria as well as his immigrant life in the US," wrote the
publication Sahara Reporters.
A former professor at Brown
University, Providence, and Trinity College, Hartford, Ndibe lives with his
family in West Hartford. He co-founded the journal African Commentary with noted
author Chinua Achebe ("Things Fall Apart"). He writes with insight
and wit about early struggles in Nigeria and his life as an immigrant. In fact,
his essay, "My African Eyes," won him widespread attention for its
detailed recollection of his childhood within Biafra's war, from 1967 to 1970.
This memoir, published Oct. 11,
tells of Ndibe's move from Nigeria to the United States. He recounts stories of
his relationships with Achebe and other writers, compares Nigerian and American
etiquette and politics, and takes an insightful look at American stereotypes
about Africa (as well as the reverse).
Roy Blount Jr. onboard:
Road
trip: The Mark Twain House & Museum in Hartford will host humorist-author
Roy Blount
Jr. at 7:30 p.m., Nov. 17, in the museum's Lincoln Financial
Auditorium, West Hartford. Blount will read from his latest, "Save Room
for Pie," a collection of poetry, songs, essays and "news" about
food. Count on it being funny.
A panelist on NPR's lively "Wait, Wait ... Don't Tell Me,"
Blount is well known to radio fans. But he's also well known in the literary
world and even serves as a consultant to at least one prominent dictionary
publisher. He's a wit and a word geek: he's lampooned the Pittsburgh Steelers
and written about the Marx Brothers' war
satire. He's even written about our common English language in "Alphabet
Juice" and "Alphabetter Juice."
Area
book groups:
Local author Jim MacIntosh talks about his new
thriller, "Witness the Trees," at the 6:30 p.m., Nov. 15, meeting of
Leicester Library Book Club. The book concerns a murder among friends camping
in the New Hampshire woods.
Members of the book club at Heywood Library,
Gardner, have slated "I Am Malala" for their 4:30 p.m., Nov. 30 meeting.
On Tuesday, Nov. 29, members of the Bannister Book
Group in Brookfield will meet at 7 p.m. to discuss Kathleen Grissom's "The
Kitchen House," the story of an Irish child working alongside slaves on a
tobacco plantation.
In North Brookfield, Haston Library Book Group meets
at 7 p.m., Dec. 6, to discuss the November/December selection, "Cuckoo's
Calling" by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling).
Also on Nov 29, members of the Thayer Memorial
Library Book Group will meet to discuss "After the Falls," a memoir
by Catherine Gildener, at 6:30 p.m. in Lancaster.
